"I became an A&E doctor because, as a society, we need to look after people who are at their most vulnerable, regardless of how much money they earn.

"This includes the homeless, the elderly, those who have no family or anyone to stand by them when they are at their weakest – how can you shut the door on these people?

"All services are feeling the pressure and sometimes people forget we should be looking out for those who can’t afford it.

"Everyone is burnt out, it’s draining and I feel overworked on every shift but there are moments when you are treating a seriously ill patient and you take a step back and think, I’m working with a team of amazing people and we will save this person’s life.

"Sometimes you catch yourself and think it’s an honour you can do this but we can’t continue as we are now. Every hospital is chronically understaffed and we need more funding to be able to treat everyone who walks through our doors.

"The NHS is surviving. It is clinging on because of the people who are willing to go that extra mile to always provide the best healthcare – and that is the success of the NHS."

July 5, 2018 marks 70 years since the National Health Service was created (Image: Lynne Cameron/PA Wire)

My sister said those words after working a 10-hour night shift on the busy wards of a north Yorkshire hospital. During that time she saved lives, discharged recovered patients and comforted distressed and grieving families.

I can’t describe how proud I am of her.

There have been times when she has rung me in tears because she was unable to save a child’s life and she has seen patients becoming physically aggressive because they are fed up with waiting their turn.

As a student journalist, I joined her and fellow determined junior doctors on the picket lines and cheered every time a passing driver beeped their horn in support.

But when I asked her about celebrating the 70th anniversary of NHS, her response was heartbreakingly matter-of-fact because, truthfully, she and her hardworking colleagues are witnessing their beloved health service being pulled apart.

July 5, 2018 marks 70 years since the National Health Service was created (Image: PA)

On July 5, 70 years ago, leaflets were posted through letterboxes of households across Britain, branded with the simple yet powerful message: “It will relieve your money worries in time of illness.”

And that is what we must remember.

We may moan about paying our taxes but it is during turbulent financial times like now, when the nation needs to unite behind what we pride ourselves most on – our humanity and empathy.

Many, both inside the NHS and outside it, fear our government is running our health service to the ground and that this moment will go down in history as one of our country's biggest regrets.

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Five months after countless hospitals declared "black alert" and patients were lying in hospital corridors because there was nowhere else for them to go, our government announced that hundreds of "unneccesary" procedures, including varicose vein surgery and tonsil removal, would be cancelled – simply due to reduced funding.

It is important to celebrate 70 years of the NHS and look back on this milestone with pride but it is just as important to look ahead at an uncertain future.

In my sister’s words, if everyone else gave up on the NHS, who would be there to save the lives of those who are unable to pay their way to good health?

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